The present invention generally relates to centrifuge rotation indicators, and more specifically, but not exclusively, concerns a relatively inexpensive centrifuge rotational indicator that is visible during maintenance and is self-powered.
Diesel engines are designed with relatively sophisticated air and fuel filters (cleaners) in an effort to keep dirt and debris out of the engine. Even with these air and fuel cleaners, dirt and debris, including engine-generated wear debris, will find a way into the lubricating oil of the engine. The result is wear on critical engine components and if this condition is left unsolved or not remedied, engine failure. For this reason, many engines are designed with full flow oil filters that continually clean the oil as it circulates between the lubricant sump and engine parts.
There are a number of design constraints and considerations for such full flow filters and typically these constraints mean that such filters can only remove those dirt particles that are in the range of 10 microns or larger. While removal of particles of this size may prevent a catastrophic failure, harmful wear will still be caused by smaller particles of dirt that get into and remain in the oil. In order to try and address the concern over small particles, designers have gone to bypass filtering systems that filter a predetermined percentage of the total oil flow. The combination of a full flow filter in conjunction with a bypass filter reduces engine wear to an acceptable level, but not to the desired level. Since bypass filters may be able to trap particles less than approximately 10 microns, the combination of a full flow filter and bypass filter offers a substantial improvement over the use of only a full flow filter.
While centrifuge cleaners can be configured in a variety of ways as represented by the earlier designs of others, one product which is representative of part of the early design evolution is the Spinner II(copyright) oil cleaning centrifuge made by Glacier Metal Company Ltd., of Somerset, Ilminister, United Kingdom, and offered by T. F. Hudgins, Incorporated, of Houston, Tex. Various advances and improvements to the Spinner II(copyright) product are represented by U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,912 issued Nov. 19, 1996 to Herman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,217 issued Jun. 10, 1997 to Herman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,300 issued Jan. 25, 2000 to Herman, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,717 issued Feb. 1, 2000 to Herman, which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Even with the advances in centrifuge design, centrifuges are still susceptible to failure due to hostile operating environments. Flooding of the housing can prevent rotation of the rotor in the centrifuge. Damaged bearings and plugged nozzles can also cause the centrifuge to become inoperative. Centrifuge failure is typically not readily apparent since the housing of the centrifuge hides the rotor. If the centrifuge failure is not quickly fixed, contaminants in the oil can build up and cause engine damage or failure before a mechanic is even aware of the problem.
One solution has been to either manufacture or retrofit the centrifuge with a sensor system that monitors rotor operation. A controller unit of the system remotely powers and monitors a centrifuge sensor that is attached to the centrifuge. Once the controller detects that the centrifuge is inoperative, the controller activates a warning signal, such as a dashboard warning light. Due to their complicated design, such types of centrifuge sensor systems are prone to failure and are relatively expensive. Since the remotely located controller supplies power to the sensor, sensing can be disrupted due to loose or cut connections with the controller. With such sensor systems, the centrifuge operation indicator is typically not located in the engine compartment so that a mechanic can not easily determine if the centrifuge is operating properly when performing maintenance on the engine. While improvements have been made in this field, there is still room for additional improvements in this particular area.
A centrifuge includes a centrifuge housing defining an inner chamber and a rotor provided in the chamber. An indicator is provided on the housing, and the indicator is constructed and arranged to indicate rotor movement. A rotor sensor is operatively coupled to the indicator and is constructed and arranged to sense rotor movement.
A centrifuge according to a further embodiment includes a centrifuge housing defining an inner chamber and a rotor provided in the chamber. A fluid speed sensor is constructed and arranged to sense fluid currents generated by movement of the rotor. An indicator is operatively coupled to the fluid speed sensor, and the indicator is constructed and arranged to indicate movement of the rotor.
One object of the present invention is to provide an improved centrifuge rotation sensor system.
Related objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description.